James Ohlen is again asking the SWTOR community for their input. This time it is on a feature many have wanted since launch…a Looking For Group (LFG) system. James had made it clear in his post, that this feature is something that they want to get finished and implemented into the game. His question is as follows:

What part of a Group Finder feature is most important to you? Is it forming a group for Operations, for Flashpoints, for Heroics, for something else – or do you have no preference?

Like his past questions the linked thread has a poll to vote on which option of a LFG feature do you feel is most important.

The LFG poll thread, SWTOR Community Spotlight & Jedi Ninjas after the Jump…

Are you needing a LFG tool about now?

Below are the standings of the poll, when this article was posted.

poll voting as of 1:25pm EST 04-19-2012

Be sure to go vote and remember you can leave your feedback on this issue in the thread, at the game’s official Twitter account @SWTOR or comment directly on James’ Twitter @JamesOhlen. Please be respectful and give Bioware and James your constructive ideas and feedback.

Rakghoul event “explodes” in live game

Imperial Report on Rakghouls

Republic Report on Rakghouls

That is the latest news via SWTOR in-game reporters. This massive epidemic has spread from the crash site and is taking Imperial and Republic Fleets alike. Save yourself and avoid all distress signals. Anyone can be infected…you have been warned.

All kidding aside this live game event is a lot of fun. There are the event based daily missions that yield Rakghoul DNA samples, a quest for tracking down ship wreckage scattered all over Tatooine, then there is actually getting infected –if no serum is taken after so long you will “explode” and die…on the upside, you collect 5 Rakghoul DNA samples each time this happens. You can unlock a mission if you happen to infect other players nearby. Now what do you do with all the DNA samples, you have collected? Well I’m glad you asked, because there happens to be a certain Jawa that is trading some limited time offer items for the DNA samples…crystals, a pet and even a special companion customization. How long will this last…not sure so get your samples collected soon!

SWTOR’s website gets an Upgrade

If you haven’t gone by the official game site for Star Wars: The Old Republic, you may not recognize it. The site received a complete overhaul and some very nice cosmetic and functional upgrades. First off, the new look is very nice and clean. It mimics a look similar to the in-game UI icons. Secondly, features added under HoloNet heading feature information on classes, Galaxy map, history, and more like before, but now have added info on new Flashpoints, Warzones, and Operations. Here is a link to the official news release about the site upgrade. The one tab I am interested in seeing what comes down the road in the future is the My SWTOR tab. Right now it holds info about your account, security settings etc. However, could this feature a way to view your Legacy or maybe an Armory to view or show-off your character’s gear…we will have to wait and see. Head on over to the main site and check out the new look and let us know what you think of it.

Star Wars Community News & Events

Corellian Run Radio’s Weekly Nav Coordinates

Our Spring Celebration Contest entry has closed, but we will be announcing the winners soon! Keep an eye out to see if you are contacted as a winner of one of the great prizes provided by our sponsors, Chronicle Books and New Video. Until then, why not catch up on the past week’s articles in the links below. Take some time to leave our authors your comments and suggestions in the article comment thread.

It is time to put the spotlight on another member of the SWTOR community. You all got a brief intro to this person in this week’s Guild Checkpoint – the GM for the guild Cabal, Naira/Mark. However, that is not why Mark is in the spotlight. It is for his amazing fan art. I have to say that his artwork caught my eye when looking to interview his guild. After exchanging emails with him, I learned more about his passion for art and a deep love for Star Wars. It is my privilege to share this interview with you and also allow you to see more of his artwork.

Can you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

Well, not much to tell really. I have done Illustration, Graphic Design and Tattooing for a number of years. I am an old school Role-Player (yes, dice, character sheet, pencil and paper.) and enjoy playing MMOs/MMORPGs.

Also love to read (mostly Fantasy and Sci-fi) and have been a Star Wars fan since 1977, and currently live on Hoth (or Northern Sweden as we call it.)

We got to see some of your artwork in this week’s Guild Checkpoint. How did you get your start with your art?

Well, I have been drawing ever since I could hold anything that could leave a mark on paper, wood, or the occasional wall…

I have an education in Advertising and Graphic design (no shiny degrees though) and I am a capable tattoo artist. Illustration wise, I have learned by looking at what others have done, studying other artists’ techniques and reading comics my entire life.

My first “serious” drawings were actually related to RPG’s, such as Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play, doing character portraits and roughing out scenes that took place in the game. I prefer to draw things from my imagination rather than using reference (though, sometimes you do need to reference things, especially for things like armor, if it’s supposed to be a specific type, etc. Things you wouldn’t normally commit to memory.

What are some of your artistic inspirations? Is there a particular artist you like or fashion your art after?

There are a fair number of artists that have inspired me, from classic masters such as DaVinci to contemporary artists such as the Brothers Hildebrandt, Boris Vallejo, Ralph McQuarrie etc. However, I think the one artist that inspired me the most and still does, is John Buscema. He did a load of Marvel comics’ superhero comics, but it was his rendition of Conan the Barbarian and the Hyborian age that fascinated me. I had a brief correspondence with him, before his death in 2002, which meant the world to me.

I don’t fashion myself after any particular artist, but I often think “How would Buscema do this?”

What about John Buscema’s art really caught your eye, that had you want to try and emulate or put in your artwork?

Buscema was a master of anatomy and the strength he managed to convey in his artwork, be it color, ink or pencil, and really spoke to me. I could only hope to achieve the same dynamics as he did. I don’t want to “be” John Buscema in any way, nor do I compare my art to his, but I do admire his work and talent and try to implement some similar concepts into my own work. I have seen too many people try to emulate or even copy his work and style with minimal success. I see him as a mentor and then try to nurture my own style, if that makes any sense?

From an artist’s perspective, how do you feel Bioware has done with their artistic style in SWTOR? Do you feel they have captured the Star Wars feel to their game?

Oh, absolutely! Although, I do question a lot of the Jedi PVP armor. It goes from Star Wars to Buck Rogers… makes no sense to me, hehe. But yeah, I think it would be really hard to go wrong with the overall design, considering the amount of images from the movies and the making of the movies stuff that’s out there. Making slight modifications to clothing and armor to represent an older era shouldn’t be that hard. But where I think BW’s design teams really shine, are the planets, ships, environments (cityscapes, etc.) and their uniqueness AND the fact that it feels, looks and sounds like Star Wars. Thumbs up Bioware!

How do you approach giving your SWTOR based art a look that fits within the Star Wars Universe?

One thing I realized very early on, when I first started drawing, was when I looked at this poster hanging on my brothers wall, depicting Darth Vader and some Stormtroopers. It’s all about the armor and clothing. There is just this element that makes them Star Wars and immediately makes it recognizable. Almost like the Batman symbol or the Mickey Mouse ears.

I use a lot of the basic elements that convey the “this is Star Wars” and then I ad small things to give it a personal “twist”.

If you are doing any art based on a comic, a movie or a game, like SWTOR, you need to respect the basics. If you stray too far from the basic design and elements that you associate with the “universe” of your intended subject, you suddenly find that you may have a great drawing, but it doesn’t belong in its intended setting, if you know what I mean?

If someone is interested in your artwork, how can they contact you or find more of your artwork?

I have an online Deviantart gallery that I update now and then and that features more than SWTOR related material, mostly fantasy drawings. It is also possible to contact me there. The address is:http://markg.deviantart.com/

Thanks to Mark for sharing his artwork and time to make this interview possible. I recommend to checkout his gallery mentioned above and also check out his artwork in the guild Cabal. Both of these albums let you see the artwork in full-size, so you can see all the detail he brings to each piece.

SWTOR Video of the Week

I had to include this video. It was posted in our guild’s Facebook group by Beau…woot OTG! Okay first, ninjas and Jedi/Sith – lightsaber users are just cool…now secondly you combine them both and make a Youtube video short film, equals nothing short of pure awesome!

That is it for this week’s HoloNet Links. Is there a particular link, story, video, or topic related to SWTOR you would like us to highlight? Maybe you or someone you know deserves to be highlighted in our SWTOR Community Spotlight if so please email us at corellianrun@gmail.com or you can leave your links and suggestions in the comments below, or in the Facebook group. Thanks and see you all next week!